From: edlantz@aol.com (Edlantz) Subject: Re: HUMAN-FACTORS: Immersion Studies Date: 15 Sep 1996 21:14:46 -0400 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) John Draper wrote: <...> >there is no evidence of >performance benefits accruing from presence (Sheridan, 1992; Draper & >Blair, 1996). There is also some evidence that characteristics of VR >often associated with immersion and presence can produce simulator >sickness (Kolasinski, 1995)... This is an interesting point. In a recent Siggraph panel I pointed this out, and made the distinction between cognitive (as in measurable learning of new skills or performance increases) benefits of presence, and affective benefits (wow, it's really cool). Having experimented with very wide instantaneous FOV projected displays (not possible using an HMD), I can say that the high visual immersion can both help and hinder my productivity. It helps in visualizing something in 3D which cannot be represented accurately on a monitor. Spatial relationships between objects are better understood in a visually immersive environment. But it hinders when it overwhelms my visual field with extraneous information... in other words, most information can be represented more simply, without the need to occupy my sense of balance, motion, etc. Total visual immersion is a high impact communication medium. Perhaps we have not learned how to effectively use it yet. Perhaps its benefit is more affective or emotional, since it drives sense modalities which ordinary media cannot reach. Time (and good research) will tell... ***************************************************************** Ed Lantz Spitz, Inc. P.O. Box 198 Chadds Ford, PA 19317 tel: (610) 459-5200 x27 fax: (610) 459-3830 email: edlantz@aol.com spitz@libertynet.org www.libertynet.org:80/~spitz *********** Spitz: fifty years of visual immersion ************